Author

TerryLema

We Will Not Fear

by TerryLema

This morning I retreated. I heard health news from a couple of friends that rocked me yesterday.

I read that churches in California have been barred from singing, although many still are singing their praises to God. (No telling what ramifications there will be for breaking that directive.)

The COVID-19 cases in our county are increasing rapidly and there is the threat that the Governor, local government, or health district will take action to move us back a stage.

Overnight, so much changed, so, I retreated. I retreated to Psalm 46.  It begins this way, “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.” [CSB]

 When trouble abounds, the LORD God Almighty is our refuge and strength.  He is “always found” in times of trouble. As the NKJV says, He is an “ever-present help in the time of trouble.”

 How do we survive the troubles that accompany this life?  The only way I know to not just survive, but joyfully thrive amid the troubles is by retreating into the loving arms of Almighty God. When I reach out to Him, I find that He is always right there with me – ever present – and watching over me, ready to take my hand and guide me through.

I am not able to sufficiently answer to everyone’s satisfaction the “why” to that age-old question, “Why do bad things happen to good people.” But I am reassured that when bad things do happen, God is my refuge. God is my strength. God is my helper. God is always with me, in good times and in times of trouble.

Amen and Amen.

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For Christ!

by TerryLema

“For it has been given to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.” [Philippians 1:29-30]

Oh, Paul, really, did you have to add that part about suffering for Christ?

No one likes to talk about nor endure suffering.  Still, suffering comes. Few people go through this life without some suffering or difficulties or trying circumstances. Some of the time we create our own suffering by our bad choices. Some of the time suffering is created for us by other’s bad choices.  But is that the kind of suffering Paul reminds us of in these verses?

No, it is not. The kind of suffering Paul refers to is specific. It is suffering “for” Christ Jesus. It is a suffering that is linked to our faith and our work for the Gospel. It is unique in its source and nature.

We have an enemy. He is our enemy because we belong to God and he hates God. All the evil aimed at the church and individual Christians is generated by him. He will use anyone or anything to aim his hatred of God against God’s beloved children.  He will not succeed, in fact, he is already a vanquished enemy – vanquished by Christ Jesus at the cross.

Still, he knows he is getting closer and closer to that awful lake of fire spoken of in Revelation 20:10 and he is seeking for as many to devour as he can. He has begun a campaign against the church in our nation. We would do well to remember that … and to remember that freedom gained must be diligently kept.

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Just One Thing

by TerryLema

In Philippians 1, after Paul reminds his readers of his heart (For me, living is Christ and dying is gain), he reminds them of how they are to live their life.  

“Just one thing: Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith that comes from the gospel, not being frightened in any way by your opponents.” [vs 27-28 CSB]

We are to live our lives worthy of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, for that is the Gospel. We are to stand firmly in unity. We are to work side by side with each other for the faith. Then Paul adds, we are not to be “frightened in any way by [our] opponents.”

 When we live worthy of the Gospel, stand in unity and work together for the faith, we are going to ruffle the feathers of those who hate God, those who pretend to serve God but have their own agenda, those who teach a gospel that is not a true Gospel. We are going to generate opposition … it has been that way down through history and it will be that way going forward in this nation.

As a nation, we have enjoyed an unusual acceptance of “religious freedom” guaranteed by our Constitution. We have gone about our work for God with little backlash, but that has changed. There are factions that seek to overcome the freedom we have to worship and share the Good News. They want us silenced, made irrelevant, or eliminated.

Paul who was in prison because his preaching of the Gospel created that same opposition in his day, now warns us to stand bravely and courageously and not be “frightened in any way by [our] opponents.”

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That Will Be Enough

by TerryLema

I love the beginning chapter of the Book of Philippians. Paul opens with his greeting and immediately flows into a passage of gratitude and prayer for his readers. Then he talks of his imprisonment and how even that works to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul has no idea where his imprisonment in Rome will lead.  It may lead to freedom; it may lead to death. In verses 21 to 26 he wrestles with those two options. He reveals his heart in verse 21.  “For me, living is Christ and dying is gain.”  [CSB]

For the Christian, Paul’s options are our options. In this world, Christ Jesus is our life. When we leave this life, we will gain even more for we shall see our LORD and King face to face in all His glory. We shall enter a life that is completely free from sin, free from temptation, free from pain, free from fear, free from dying. We shall abide eternally with the One Who Died For Us.

But until that day comes, we have a purpose to fulfill. We have a certain number of days to achieve that have already been determined for us. Whether we are weak or strong physically, young or old, man or woman, educated or not, rich or poor, God calls us to live for Christ.

How that command works out in our individual lives is not what is important. We may not be able to do much other than pray for others, give a kind word to someone, or offer a smile in the name of the LORD. Maybe all we can do is live our life joyfully in Christ during trying circumstances as an example to others, but, that will be enough.

 

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Independence Day

by TerryLema

True freedom will never be achieved in this world until we are under the Almighty Rule of the Eternal Godhead. What we experience on this earth will always be but a shadow because it will always be tainted by the sins of mankind, the prejudices, the hatred, the arrogance, the greed.

Jesus says, however, that He has come that we might have freedom. In John 8, He was being questioned by the Pharisees following an incident when He was teaching on the Mount of Olives. They brought to Him a woman caught in adultery, hoping to catch Him in an offense that could be used against Him.

Before His revelation as the “Great I AM” at the end of the chapter, Jesus and the Pharisees discussed freedom. He reminded them in verse 36, “If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.”

I like the way the Holman Christian Standard Version translates that familiar verse.  “Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.” [John 8:36 CSB]

We have been set free by the Son of God. It is a done deal, since only the Son of God can set us free from the bondage and guilt of sin. However, like all freedom, it must be defended because there is always someone out there ready to reduce freedom to enslavement, to impose oppression over freedom, and to vanquish the freedom of others.

We have to fight to maintain our freedoms in this natural world, and with the power of God’s Holy Spirit, we must fight to maintain our freedom in the spiritual world … looking forward to that day when we shall see our LORD face-to-face and experience the everlasting freedom which we know in part now..

“For now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.” [1 Corinthians 13:12 CSB]

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by TerryLema

Freedom. Tomorrow is Independence Day. Perhaps this year it will mean more to us than fireworks and picnics. Perhaps this year, 2020, we will begin to understand the price so many paid for this nation to be born.

I grew up in Pennsylvania, one of the original 13 colonies. To me, the Revolutionary War is the most intriguing event in our history. I thrived on the stories of patriots, Patrick Henry, John Paul Jones, John and Abigail Adams, Mary Draper, Samuel Adams, Esther DeBerdt Reed, John Hancock.  These were men and women who sacrificed everything to bring about the end of the tyrannical rule of England and allow the colonies to be free to govern themselves.

As children we had to memorize the beginning of the Declaration of Independence. It begins: “When in the course of human events, it become necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the power of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respond to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

The next section is the one we so often hear:  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

All people are created equal. Through the years we have struggled with that truth. We have gotten off course as a nation, but we have fought and died to correct the course when needed. The concepts of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness have never been easy to understand, nor easy to embrace, still Americans have proudly displayed their quest for them.

This is history. American history. And if you read through the early papers of the great American heroes who founded this country, you will see that they have pulled many of their truths from the Bible, and sought the Hand of their Creator God to fulfill their purpose.

“A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” [John 10:10]

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He Will Fulfill It

by TerryLema

Last Sunday I got to church early, as I usually do. I was already tired, and as I walked around getting things set up, I became more tired—to the point that I could feel myself getting lightheaded and seemed like I was about to pass out. I realized I could not continue. I would need to call in someone to preach for me. I left, feeling awful physically, and feeling awful that I could not bring the message on the Holy spirit that I had prepared.

From what I understand, this recent physical development is a side effect of the third medication I am taking, a TB antibiotic that I need to keep my latent TB from going positive with the infusions.  I know my doctor and I will get this figured out.  I am just very impatient. I want to be done with this 4-month protocol and I am only 1-month in.

My daily Bible verse on Monday reminded me that whatever happens, God will complete His purpose for me. “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me. Lord, Your love is eternal; do not abandon the work of Your hands.” [Psalm 138:8 CSB]

God knows every day of my life. He knew my beginning, and He knows my end. He has a divine purpose for my life and He will be relentless through the power of His Spirit to bring that to its gracious fulfillment.

God has a divine purpose for each of us. One of the saddest things about our current culture is that our children have been taught that they have no divine purpose. They are an accident of nature, the result of some evolutionary process that outlaws the Hand of God. I do not know how anyone can survive thinking they have no reason for being alive, no LORD and King that has their lives securely in His Hands.

How disheartening to live with neither a purpose nor a future. No wonder they are searching so badly for meaning in all the wrong places.

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End-Time Church

by TerryLema

Shortly before Jesus’ death, His disciples approached Him privately and asked about what would precede His return.  ‘Tell us … what is the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” [Matthew 24:3 CSB]

What followed is a list of natural disasters and wars that is familiar to anyone who has been in the church for any length of time. In verses 9-13, Jesus also tells them that persecutions and martyrdom await those who live during that time. There will be betrayals and the love of many will grow cold, but, amazingly, at the end of that section is a beacon of hope in verse 14.

“This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.”

Amid all the terrorism, war, persecution and natural disasters, there will be an end-time Church of Christ Jesus that will finish the Great Commission.  This end-time church will have the fullness of the Power, Presence and Person of the Holy Spirit in her midst. The Spirit will pour His power upon this end-time church again and again so that she will burn with passion and zeal and a love for Jesus.

This awakened church will be gripped by the Spirit, empowered and bold. She will speak truth with a call that will travel across our globe with a fervor that may not have been seen since that first church in the Book of Acts. Truth and holiness will be welcomed in her midst.

Joel 2 promises that this end-time awakening will come to all, to men and women, to the young and old. It will not be limited to pastors or prophets, as all will receive the Spirit’s outpouring. Then as they remarked about Peter and John in Acts 4:13, “When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus,” they will know that we, too, have been with the LORD.

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The Unexpected 2020

by TerryLema

The first half of 2020 is behind us. What a beginning it was! Now as we head into the second half of 2020 the predictions of what may come are even more dire in many places. Who would have thought as we celebrated this new decade on January 1 what we would face in just a matter of months? The whole world was turned upside down by the unexpected.

Yet, as I am often reminded, our Father God is not surprised nor taken aback by the “unexpected,” for He knows all things. He knows even the things that “might” happen.

One of my favorite passages of reassurance is found in 1 Samuel 23. The Philistines were attacking the city of Keilah and God sent David to rescue them. When Saul found out what David did, and that he was still in Keilah behind barred gates, he planned to trap him there.

David inquired of the LORD and asked two questions. The first, “Will Saul come?” God’s answer: “Yes, he will.” [v10-11]

David inquired again, “Will the citizens of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?” God’s answer: “They will.” [v12]

That, of course, never happened because David took God’s warning and fled the city and escaped with his men. God warned David about what would happen unless David heeded the warning. God knew Saul’s plan, as well as the thoughts of the citizens of Keilah even before they thought them!

Omniscience (big theological word) for the truth that God knows all things. That big theological word is vitally important to us as we walk through each day. We know we can trust that God will not be surprised, nor taken aback, by the unexpected that we might encounter. Praise His Holy Name.

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God’s Precious Thoughts!

by TerryLema

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  [James 1:17 CSB]

Everything God creates is productive, just, and good. Everything God does has value and loveliness.  He does everything in love and concern for our best and eternal interests. He wants us to flow with the desires of His Holy Spirit so that we will agree with His purpose worked out in our lives.

God never seeks to harm us.  He will, however, not force us to love Him and He’s given us free will to reject Him and will allow us to live (and die) with that choice, But, that has never been His purpose for our eternal good.

One of the most beautiful songs ever written is Psalms 139. Take a moment to read it. One thing you notice immediately is that it contains no negative undertones. It is an entirely positive outpouring of how we are in the care of God – we are remarkably and wondrously made, God is always with us, He knows our deepest thoughts and desires and loves us still!

To me, the most beautiful verses are 17 and 18: “God, how precious your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is! If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with you.”

Our Father is thinking about us all the time. Think about that! God, the Omnipotent One, the All-Knowing One, thinks about us. Of the billions of people alive on this planet now … God thinks about me and you—about each one of us individually. What a remarkable truth.

I sing with the Psalmist … “God, how precious your thoughts are to me!”

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